Beast Tamer: I Can See Evolution Paths

'This matter really is just this simple?'

'Isn't it a bit beyond our imagination?'

'Really no part of the process has any mistake?'

"Go in?"

"I think we can."

"Then let's go in and take a look."

Because of their attribute, the Cloud-Patterned Leopard Tiger is a burrowing creature. Their nests are generally half above ground and half underground.

Just like the Cloud-Patterned Leopard Tiger's cave that Asher and Vicky found in front of them.

The part on the ground is a rock cave. And the underground part was further hollowed out by the Cloud-Patterned Leopard Tiger.

Standing outside the cave and sticking their heads in to look, it's simply a huge bottomless pit.

Pitch black. But there wasn't any particularly strange smell.

Thinking about it, it's not entirely incomprehensible. After all, beasts are also intelligent beings. Nobody likes their home to smell weird. It's uncomfortable to live in. [T/N: Humans: Hold our cup.]

"Really want to... go in?", Vicky's tone unavoidably had some hesitation.

It's not that he was afraid or anything...

Well, he was indeed a little scared and that's all. This cave in front of them just looks too deep and dark, always makes one accidentally think of many unpleasant things.

Asher's expression looked much calmer, "Danger-wise, there probably isn't any major danger."

"Cloud-Patterned Leopard Tigers are not social beasts."

"If this really is the nest of the Cloud-Patterned Leopard Tiger we took down, then there shouldn't be a second one inside."

If they're lucky, they might even find the Cloud-Patterned Leopard Tiger's pet egg.

Saying that, Asher looked at Vicky.

Vicky: "..."

"F-Fine, since we've already come, I think we still need to go in and take a look," Vicky said righteously, with an expression so serious it couldn't be more serious.

That's right. It's definitely not because he was tempted by Asher's words.

It's just purely because they've already come all this way.

Asher gave a chuckle.

Vicky still awkwardly shifted his gaze away.

Though still...

Just pretend he doesn't know what Asher is laughing at.

"Let's go," Asher placed a hand on the cave and jumped down first.

Vicky: "!"

"F*ck!"

"You want to die?"

Vicky shouted loudly, not daring to delay at all, and hurriedly followed Asher.

His brain couldn't even bother to feel nervous, his first reaction was that Asher mustn't get into an accident.

At the moment he landed on the soft ground, Vicky's brain was still a bit dazed.

'What just happened?'

He really just jumped down without any preparation?

Vicky's face turned pale.

He silently felt his own heart, which was still going "thump thump" crazily.

Clearly, he was startled by what Asher just did.

"Piece of cake," Asher looked at Vicky's expression and said somewhat helplessly, "I roughly estimated the cave depth and thought I could handle it, so I jumped straight down."

"Take that look off your face, I'm not that reckless."

Saying so, Asher's tone held a bit of helplessness.

He really was curious. Just what kind of image he had in Vicky's mind?

Reliable old man? Or unreliable good bro?

"Shut up, you!", Vicky didn't hold back at all, punching Asher on the shoulder, with a voice that carried some inexplicable anger.

Vicky glared fiercely at Asher, "I really thought you'd lost your mind!"

Such a deep cave. What if he slipped and something bad happened?

Even if he really had to jump down, shouldn't he let him test it out first?

Vicky kept a stern face, "If you do that again next time, I'm not asking you for anything again."

"I'll just go hire an exploration team and be their boss instead."

Asher's expression was helpless and amused.

Using that to threaten him? Seriously? Isn't that a joke?

But Asher wasn't clueless about what Vicky meant.

Vicky really was worried about him.

Also hoped Asher would take his own safety more seriously.

"Okay okay okay, I got it."

What else could Asher do?

He could only nod and agree.

Seeing this, Vicky didn't cling to the topic anymore.

His gaze swept around once.

Inside the cave was pitch black, the field of vision was seriously limited, he could barely make out some things.

But he was quite sensitive to the feel under his feet.

"A bit soft," Vicky stomped his foot and felt it.

It was the same feeling as when he had just jumped down.

People who've vaulted walls know this. Jumping down from a tall wall, the moment your feet hit the ground, they go numb.

That feeling is simply tangy.

But just now when he landed, he didn't feel that way. In fact, the ground felt overly soft.

If not for Vicky's rich experience in cushioning landings, he was afraid he might've twisted his ankle by accident.

No joke. It's a very likely occurrence.

Asher nodded; he had the same impression, "There's probably a lot of dry grass, leaves, fur and other things on the ground."

Piled together, a thick layer. That's what gives you the feeling of sinking right in with one step.

Thinking of this, Asher gave Vicky a look.

Vicky: "?"

The bit of tacit understanding between Vicky and Asher disappeared without a trace at this moment.

Tacit understanding?

What tacit understanding?

Absolutely none.

Asher shot a look at Vicky, "Use your brain, will you?"

"This is exactly why I've got you, my external brain!", As he spoke, Vicky looked righteously justified.

Asher was nearly amused to the point of laughing from anger by this guy.

"Alright then," Asher sighed and said, "Cloud-Patterned Leopard Tigers aren't the type of beasts that enjoy comfort."

Most beasts are like that.

Comfort? It takes time and effort. Just enough is fine.

Barely scraping by to survive, and on that basis trying to live a bit better, grabbing more food, this is the basic logic for most beasts.

"Doing so much preparation in the cave, that's not normal Cloud-Patterned Leopard Tiger behavior."

"So all this luxury isn't prepared for itself."

Asher didn't say the final conclusion out loud but gave Vicky another look.

He had already spoken this far.

Could Vicky really still not figure it out?

Then Asher would truly have to doubt himself, doubt life itself.

Fortunately, Vicky wasn't actually that dumb.

As he listened, Vicky's eyes suddenly lit up.

He got it.

"It's a pet beast egg!"

In the midst of the darkness, Vicky's eyes lit up like light bulbs, seemingly glowing, staring at Asher with spirit and clarity.

Asher smiled and nodded, "A teachable child."

"Then let's hurry up and get moving!", The moment he thought he could harvest a Cloud-Patterned Leopard Tiger pet beast egg, Vicky couldn't stay still anymore.

His entire body was filled with strength.

"Let's go," Asher waved his hand casually, not too concerned.

Getting excited was normal. And... Asher had a hunch that he himself might also find something inside this cave.

As for what exactly... Right now, Asher couldn't say for sure.

———

[Star City]

"Ah, today is also a day of neatly finishing work and being able to get off duty on time," Charlotte stretched with satisfaction, a big smile on her face.

She had kept this regular rhythm for a long time now.

For a working person, especially one who often works overtime, this was such a blessing.

Charlotte sincerely prayed. Hoping this happiness could last just a bit longer.

And then... Because there were still ten minutes until the end of her shift, the work software that wasn't closed gave a "ding-dong."

Charlotte's stretch froze stiffly midair.

Charlotte looked solemnly at the work software in the upper-right corner with a red dot notification, her sixth sense flaring ominously.

At such a delicate time, a message suddenly arrived.

What else could it be?

Charlotte resisted stubbornly.

She didn't want to open it.

She wanted to pretend she saw nothing.

If she could just survive these last few minutes...

Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong—

The sound of the work software kept ringing one after another.

Charlotte let out a long breath from her chest.

She knew this wasn't something she could dodge just because she wanted to today.

She opened the software.

Charlotte immediately shut her eyes again in pain.

"That damned thing!", Charlotte's angry voice burst out through the office door.

But no one outside was surprised.

Because a chorus of voices also echoed throughout the office.

That damned thing. That thing that deserves a thousand cuts.

Damn it!

A massive workload fell from the sky.

———

At the restaurant where they had agreed to meet, Jasmine still hadn't seen anyone arrive: "?"

"Seriously? You guys have to work overtime again? What's going on?", Jasmine called, her tone thick with confusion and incomprehension.

Normally speaking, Charlotte's department doesn't enforce overtime.

Most of the time, if they're working late, it's because there's really no way to finish within regular hours.

Too much. Just way too much.

Only by sacrificing normal rest time and racing against the clock could all the tasks be finished before the deadline.

Luckily, the company's overtime pay was generous.

But ever since mechanical-attribute pet beasts were introduced, Charlotte's job had gotten much easier.

Neat, regular, as long as no slacking off during working hours, it was possible to finish everything within the set timeframe.

For Charlotte and the others, this was already a rare kind of happiness.

Wanting even more? That would just be greedy.

So why the heck were they working overtime again?

Charlotte's resentment was so strong that even over the phone, Jasmine could feel it.

["Why don't you have to work overtime?"]

["I thought the inspection team and our headquarters were hardship siblings?"]

["How come when it's time for you to step up, you don't show up?"]

Jasmine: "???"

The number of question marks floating over Jasmine's head was terrifying.

"What exactly happened?", Jasmine frowned slightly, realizing things weren't as simple as she thought.

Actually, things seemed even more serious than she imagined.

But what Jasmine didn't expect was that Charlotte, who usually kept nothing from her and shared everything, said nothing this time.

["It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just that the situation is a bit serious,"] Seeing Jasmine's furrowed brows, Charlotte also sighed helplessly.

Though she didn't know why the inspection team hadn't received the info. But... How did the Imperial Spire faction find out a piece of domestic news that was never released?

That's a very serious question.

A spy? Or someone selling intel?

Whether it's the former or the latter, neither is a good thing for them.

Thinking of that, Charlotte's resentment dissipated quite a bit, ["Just wait a bit longer. At the latest, you all should know what's going on by tomorrow."]

Charlotte spoke gently to calm Jasmine.

Jasmine didn't press the matter after that.

The two could be such good friends precisely because they understood where to draw the line.

———

After hanging up, Charlotte dove right back into work, working overtime non-stop.

"Tonight is another sleepless night," Charlotte let out a long sigh from her chest.

'AAAAHHHH— Damn it!'

She was still so mad.

Clearly, it had been so long since she last had to do overtime, where the hell did these damned spies come from?

Give her back her normal rest time.

Charlotte continued spiraling into madness.

———

Smooth. So smooth that Asher and Vicky both found it a little unbelievable.

What? It really was just this simple? Not even a single roadblock?

With no resistance at all, they had arrived in front of the Cloud-Patterned Leopard Tiger pet beast eggs with ease.

Looking at the two big eggs on the ground, the two of them looked at each other.

"Maybe we really are just this lucky?", Asher said uncertainly.

Vicky pondered, "Then whose luck do you think it is?"

Good question. No idea. So let's skip that for now.

"Let's not worry about that," Vicky wiped his face, a solemn look on his face, "Let's grab the eggs first."

The rest? Talk about it later.

Asher: "..."

Fine, not unacceptable, honestly.

Vicky happily scurried forward and scooped up a pet beast egg, his face breaking into a goofy grin.

Happy, he was truly happy.

The next pet beast was locked in, and its aptitude was honestly really good.

Vicky had no complaints at all.

Couldn't get a Asher copycat, but this was still great, wasn't it?

Looking at Vicky's silly smile, Asher shook his head in amusement.

That's all it takes to be this happy?

Just then, Asher suddenly felt the two fragments in his chest heating up.

Asher: "?"

Without hesitation, Asher quickly took the two fragments out.

But even so, his movement was still a bit too slow.

"Eh?", Beside him, Vicky also let out a cry of surprise.

The fragments got hotter and hotter.

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